Shadowed Past
by Viable-Solution
Summary: Tyler Callahan is a tortured soul, constantly moving with his family after his father was killed. His life is in shatters and he can't seem to get onto his feet. But what about after he meets the SWAT kats, and his urge to fly gets stronger...and stronger
1. New Kid On The Block

**_A/N: Chris belongs to Chrissy-San, I hold no rights to this character, I'm just lucky enough to be able to use her._**

"I don't wanna sleep, I don't wanna dream, Cause my dreams don't comfort me..." - Skillet 'Comatose'

_**The sky...the one**_ place that always seemed to be endless. More so than the sea, more than the land, more than anything around. It just stretched on forever, birds flying carelessly through the air over the highway leading to Megakat city. The road stretched on just as long, and the greenery passed by as if not even there. Animals ran beside the few vehicles that bothered to go the 'scenic' route. Of course it was the view that Tyler Callahan's mother took the route for. His brother and baby sister sat in the back bickering over a toy Enforcer jet and didn't bother to so much as look at him, their mother, or the outside world. Too transfixed on their object of obsession. Tyler was your all but average nineteen and a half year old kat. His height tops off at about five foot ten, leaning closer to five foot eleven in the past few months. His fur was a charcoal gray, and the tip of his tail was a faded black of the same color, along with several other tattoo like markings on his back and shoulders. He had hazel eyes that had lost their hopeful and childish shine over the years...ever since his father had died it had all changed. He wore baggy blue jeans, skate shoes, and a white shirt with dark red hems, and the word 'Angel' scratched into the front in black. Tied around his head was a red and white bandanna, causing his ears to be pushed against his skull. He sat with one leg propped up on the seat and his right arm resting on it, his head turned to stare out the window. His eyes flicked to the left towards his mother as she turned off the radio and took a deep breath.

"There it is...Megakat city! We're almost there...almost home," She smiled and cast a glance at Tyler who huffed.

"Home...we're never home anymore mom! Why can't you see that...ever since Dad died we've been moving to keep you in a job that you hate with every fiber of your being!" He growled.

"Tyler! Don't talk like that...its never home because you refuse to make it home..." She calmly replied "besides, maybe you'll like it this time, might find something you like to do, make some friends..."

"Yea Tyler, maybe you can actually stop to think about the good for a few seconds instead of being mr. Morbid!" His younger brother Conner yelled to the front.

Tyler didn't bother to respond, instead focusing on the gleaming city growing in front of them. He turned back to face the outside and took a deep breath, clutching the dog tags he wore around his neck. The grass and trees turned to pavement and buildings as they drove into the packed streets. They drove almost completely through the city until stopping on the outskirts in a small area reminiscent of a subdivision, the moving truck behind them parking in the driveway and the kats inside getting out to begin moving boxes in. Tyler waited for everyone else to get out of the car and took a deep breath, holding it as he opened the door and jumped out. Stretching he walked inside and looked around. The wood floor in the kitchen and dining room were the first things to catch his eye as he scanned his new 'home'. Next the tan carpets in the living room and seemingly everywhere else. The varnished banisters leading up and downstairs shined in the day light with the light colored wood floors. He turned and brushed past a worker back to the van, grabbing his backpack he started to walk away.

"Tyler! Where are you going?!" His mother shouted after him.

"To check out the city...its twelve o clock...and I know our address, relax and let me do something..." He replied continuing to walk away.

"Maybe you could help us un pack!"

"Not today..."

Megakat city was much closer than he had originally imagined, and it took him half an hour at most to make the trip. His head was constantly moving as he stared up at the skyscrapers, his body constantly being pushed by the hustle and bustle on the sidewalks. He finally reached his destination and rolled his neck. Walking forward into the courtyard of Megakat University. His new school. It was roughly two weeks until school started, but Tyler knew it would feel like two days at the rate his summer had been going.

_**Just as he**_ had thought the weeks flew by and school had started. He had personally planned to make it a habit to walk to school, best way to avoid the bus and to avoid contact with the outside world. He didn't belong here, he belonged elsewhere, anywhere but Megakat city. It was six o clock in the morning and it was raining. Of course Tyler was past caring. With every step he took he could feel the cold rain hitting his dark fur, and the mist that covered the ground didn't do a good enough job at hiding him, any part of him. As he approached the black gates leading to the university he took a ragged breath, walking past groups of kats who probably knew each other from the previous semester, or even earlier. A couple of times someone had tried to say hello to him, but he wasn't interested and he made it painfully clear to everyone as he pushed coldly past them. He made it to his first class, history, with plenty of time to spare. No one was in any rush to get to class. It was perfect for him to get his last few precious moments of alone time. And at the same time, it was what he hated the most.

Ten or so minutes passed before the first students began to file tiredly into class, taking seemingly random seats around the class, leaving some empty. He heard a seat next to him pull back and he turned to look at who it was. What he saw was a girl, possibly a couple inches shorter than he was, with tan fur and a brown nose. She wore two earrings and had hazel eyes. Tyler stared for a minute before looking back towards the teacher who wrote his name on the board.

"Mr. Prowler..." Tyler sighed and shrugged, looking around as students began to take out their note books.

"Ladies and gentleman welcome to history class," Mr. Prowler began with a toothy grin "now, just to get to know each other, I'd like you all to stand up and say something about yourself...lets start with our newest student...Mr. Callahan, would you like to say something about yourself?"

Tyler turned his head around to look at the smiling faces and sighed "No sir, no I wouldn't..."

"Mr. Callahan do I need to remind you that some of your grade depends on participation?"

"No, you don't, I'm not saying anything Mr. Prowler, the less you all know the better," Tyler scowled.

"Fine, have it your way," Prowler replied with a frustrated sigh.

The girl turned to face him "Hey, you okay? You have the look of a kid who's taken too much crap and just doesn't need school,"

"I'm fine..." Tyler replied without looking "just a rough night...rougher life..." he mumbled.

The girl waited a minute before sighing "I'm Chris, mind telling me your first name 'Callahan'?"

"...Tyler..." he replied casting a glance before staring back towards the large white board that dominated the entire wall at the front of the class.

"Well Tyler, your new to Megakat city?" Chris replied raising her eyebrows.

He didn't respond, however much he wanted to. Eventually giving up Chris stood up, said her name and sat back down, giving Tyler one last look before beginning her work. The morning dragged on and soon art class was next. Much to Tyler's dismay, Chris was also in this class. Part of him liked her, she was really the only one who seemed to be interested enough to try to figure out what was wrong. But at the same time he disliked her because she was wasting her time on him. He took a seat and closed his eyes, trying to catch a couple minutes of sleep. Sure enough there was a gentle kick at his leg and Chris's voice broke the comforting silence.

"Whats your problem Tyler?" she asked, sounding slightly irritated "what's with the way your acting? Like some kid who's got nothing better to do but waste time in a place he doesn't want to be in?"

"My problem is thats exactly who I am...a no body, someone not worth the time, and someone with too much of it," He replied, letting his guard down for a minute.

"I'm sorry you think that way Tyler," her voice got softer and he was about ready to begin talking when the teacher's voice broke the new found silence.

"Yea...so am I..." Tyler replied, his original facade coming back into existence.

Chris's face turned to a scowl and she walked to her seat and sat down. As soon as she did Tyler could feel a tear rolling down his cheek as he found himself hating himself more than he already did. The day finally ended around one thirty, leaving plenty of it left. Tyler proceeded to stumble around the town trying to find a job to take up more time and make some money on the side. Coming out of a store his attention was caught by the news and a nice bold title concerning the 'SWAT Kats'.

"Who are they?" He asked a man who stopped and was watching it as well.

"Who are they?! They're the SWAT Kats! The best vigilantes around, not to mention the best pilots!" He grinned and began to wave his arms around.

"Alright...thanks..." Tyler nodded and continued walking.

Another hour or so passed and Tyler was about ready to head home when he heard a maniacle laughing followed by voices pleading for help and mercy. Dropping his bag Tyler walked cautiously towards the voices. Peering around a corner the first thing he saw was a large cat like lizard mixing different chemicals with dozens of people strung from the ceiling. Tyler took a few steps back and noticed the sign on the building. He had somehow stumbled into the bio lab of Megakat city. This nut must have been the reason no one stopped him.

"Please! I have kids don't do this!" a man begged, his voice hoarse from yelling.

"No...I don't think, sssooo," The lizard began laughing again and he took several steps towards the hanging worker "you'll make a fine sssspecimen for my experiments...at least for now,"

Tyler's anger suddenly got the best of him as he found himself darting around the corner at the creature. Hearing the foot steps he spun around and the breath was drawn from Tyler's lungs as the fat tail hit him in the chest. Everything went black as the cold yellow eyes of Dr. Viper stared seemingly into his soul.

_**Razor looked out**_ the cock pit of the Turbokat as he and T-Bone continued their search for Dr. Viper. Of course more often than not the guy was a beacon to himself in his own right, usually around chemicals trying to do some insane stunt that they would inevitably find a fault in, and exploit it.

"T-Bone, look, over there," Razor reached forward and tapped T-Bone's shoulder as his visor slid over his eyes and the figure of a teenager darted into the bio tech lab.

"Is that a kid? Going in there?" T-Bone asked in a surprised voice as he turned the nose of the Turbokat to face the bio tech building.

"Yea...and it looks like the Enforcers are there too," Razor gave a chuckle as he pointed towards the assembly of cars around the building.

"Let me guess...Feral," T-Bone grinned and began to hover over the lab.

"The one and only," Razor mused as the Turbokat lowered onto the roof of the building.

The pair jumped out of the cock pit and ran to the staircase, kicking it open.

"Thats a lot of stairs..." T-Bone groaned.

"Yea, better get started,"

_**Tyler kept his **_eyes closed, no matter what he heard and no matter what he felt. He was encased in some material and was hanging from the wall. He felt some measure of relief when he heard an Enforcer named Feral get on a loudspeaker and declare that his captor was under arrest...but it had quickly disappeared when he heard an explosion and the maniac which had introduced himself as Dr. Viper began to laugh. Tyler had almost accepted what was going to happen when he heard an evil hiss from Viper in the form of "SWAT Kats?!"

Immediately Tyler's eyes shot open and he tried to look around, seeing two figures in blue G suits. He began to smile as their right hands rose and two missile looking objects fired from the gloves they were wearing, and split into eight different arms, like an octopus. Viper's tail lashed out and several glasses of liquid were crushed from the misguided projectiles. With a hiss Viper ran awkwardly to a pipe, tearing it open and jumping in without hesitation.

"Crud! He's gone!" the larger of the two yelled as he ran forward towards the pipe.

"He may be, but these people aren't, come on T-Bone, give me a hand," the other one nodded and looked at the hanging kats.

The one named T-Bone walked over to Tyler and he shook his head "The others first, I've been here ten minutes tops,"

"Too bad I'm here first kid," T-Bone replied.

"I'm not worth first, get the others," Tyler shot back.

"Razor, help me out here please?"

"If he doesn't want to be first don't make him, God T-Bone its not like he's going to die if we don't let him down soon," Razor replied helping an older looking woman down.

"Fine...stay put," T-Bone pointed a finger at Tyler and he rolled his eyes.

"Yea, like I'm going anywhere..."

"_**So, how was**_ your day Tyler?" came the gentle and patient voice of his mom.

"Decent I guess, I've had an eventful day for the first day of school," He replied with a shrug as he tossed his stuff down onto the floor.

"See, just need to give things a chance,"

"I never said I liked events," Tyler sighed and started walking upstairs "consider me dead the rest of the night..."

"We've considered you dead since Dad!" Conner yelled.

Tyler scowled and jumped over the banister, heading towards his brother "What did you say squirt?!"

"You heard me Tyler, your more pathetic now than you were that night!"

Tyler grabbed Conner by the collar and was about to hit him when he huffed and dropped him "Whatever..."

Calmly he walked back up the stairs to his room and slammed the door, opening the window and climbing out onto the roof, laying down and looking at the sky. Ever since his dad had died, he had been different. He was Tyler by name, but nothing else. He was just as dead as that corpse rotting in the ground. He found a smile creasing his snout as a jet flew over, not Enforcer, but something else. It had more elegance than the Enforcer jets.

"Maybe thats what I need to do...be a fighter pilot..." he sighed and closed his eyes to the setting sun.

He didn't need to see it. He didn't want to.


	2. Looking For Places To Belong

"I wanna find something I've wanted all along...somewhere I belong." - Linkin Park 'Somewhere I Belong'

_**School was still**_ dragging on. For about three weeks after the very first day Tyler was already feeling like he was failing every class possible on the list. Most of all, he had been bored every day since he even moved into Megakat City. Nothing felt right, nothing familiar. One day after the bell rung he decided to take a stop at the local junkyard and get some spare parts to try to work to finish up his custom made motorbike that he had begun working on a couple years prior. Despite the fact he had no mechanical inclination of the sorts, he enjoyed it. It gave him an excuse to blare music and work on something that was his. Most of all, maybe he could have finally done something right and could have something to drive places on instead of relying on his mom. Another thing popped into his head as he ran across the street, he needed a job. The money for his own food and clothing wasn't going to come from his 'family' that was sure as hell not going to happen. At least he was getting back into a hobby, that'd give them one less thing to hassle him about.

"Now...where did that one kid say it was-crud!" Tyler yelled as he tripped, rolling down a hill after tripping over a pot hole in the ground.

When he finally stopped he looked up and saw a chainlink fence with a large sign across two poles, giving him an entrance. He didn't see anyone, and got up and walked in, eventually beginning to 'browse' the isles and isles of garbage for spare metal and other such parts. It all seemed to fit together nicely, rusted orange and browns mixed with fresh blues and silvers. Old springs bent and contorted, doors busted in, tank barrels that were so bent and broken that event he military couldn't salvage them. Toys, bikes, wagons, radiators, everything in the junkyard put together was enough to create something the size of...a jet. Before he could begin wondering why there were relatively few engine parts and the such he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Turning around to see who it was he saw a rust colored kat standing, his hands wrapped up with a towel and his face contorted in confusion "usually people go to the front office and tell us they want stuff instead of just taking it,"

Tyler put down what he had been holding and looked at the ground "Sorry, I sorta stumbled in...didn't mean to trespass or whatever...but I'll leave if that would make it better, I was just looking for some metal and stuff to finish up some cosmetics on my bike,"

"A bike? Like a mountain bike?" The kat asked taking a few steps forward.

"No...ditched that a while ago...street bike," Tyler replied "I'm Tyler...by the way...sir..." he looked up.

"Really...and why don't you just by one? And I'm Jake," he replied extending a paw which Tyler nervously took.

"I don't buy one because its my hobby to make things, or make things personal..." He grinned "sorta like what the SWAT Kats did with their jet..."

"Hey Jake where are you?" A familiar voice called from a distance.

"Hey is that-" Tyler was cut off by Jake.

"Chris! We have a buyer here looking for parts!" he sounded nervous, a little stressed suddenly, but it all disappeared when the same beautiful kat from two of his classes walked up next to him.

"H-hey Chris..." Tyler took a step back "didn't know you worked here..."

"Yea, so what are YOU doing here?"

"Looking for parts for a bike...not like it matters to you..."

"Wow, defensive..." she replied shrugging.

Tyler was stumbling for words to say, he hadn't been prepared for this and he was returning to his shy ways instead of his Mr Morbid facade "Also...I need a job...is there anyway I can maybe get one here? Doing something?"

Both Jake and Chris seemed at a loss for the most part, eventually Jake took a breath and began to nod his head "Yea we could probably hook you up with one..."

"Alright...thanks...well um...guess I'll come back later..." Tyler turned and began to walk away.

"Going to get your stuff?" Jake asked tilting his head.

Tyler stopped and looked back "What do you mean? Don't I need to pay?"

"Lets just say I always look to help out someone willing to work on something they love, creativity is something that you need to help right? Otherwise it just drops out," He grinned.

"Yea...thanks," Tyler nodded and started picking up the parts he had sat down and walked away.

_**Chris looked at**_ Jake and raised her eyebrows "Soft spot for that kid Jake?"

"He was one of the people who Viper captured..." Jake whispered "I remember, he doesn't seem the same though,"

"He changes his attitude all over the place...I've seen him polite at times then completely depressed at others...he's never the same," She scowled remembering the first day of school.

"Maybe he's still trying to find who he is," Jake offered smiling "everyone goes through that point...its natural..."

"Why would he be going through that at this point in his life?"

"Who knows, maybe we will one day...you never know..."

"_**The SWAT Kats**_ have once again saved the day from the terrifying, Doctor Viper," Tyler listened to the report in his garage as he worked on his bike "Doctor Viper will be taken to a high security prison..."

Tyler changed the tuning. The last thing he wanted to do was listen to the radio talk about a psycho who shouldn't just be put away, but be put in a straight jacket under ground for the rest of his life. He hit himself and sighed, there he went again, thinking those depressing morbid painful thoughts. He grunted as he hefted a large metal piece he had shaped the way he wanted, and was now fitting it to the bike. For the past three hours he had been working, and it was almost time for him to stop. He still had to paint it, and adjust everything else he had put on. But the metal he had picked up and the springs were now in place, he had working shocks and the cosmetic detail was now just down to the paint. He grinned and looked over at the assorted blue, red, and black paints he had bought. There were also a couple of grays, but for the most part. He was going to make a bike worthy of the SWAT Kats themselves.

"Tyler! When are you coming out of that garage?!" His mom yelled over the music.

"After I polish out these parts!" He yelled back without thinking.

There was a frustrated sigh and the sound of a slamming door and Tyler was alone again. He stopped and looked at the bike so far and nodded approvingly at it. The smile that magically appeared on his face slowly began to fade as he thought about Chris. It was odd to him but for some reason he seemed to like her. She had something odd about her that made him want to find out what it was. He was about to start working again when his cell phone rang. Turning off the music he flipped it open and put it to his ear after taking off his bandanna.

"Yo, this is Tyler..." He wiped off some grease on a towel.

"Tyler? This is Jake Clawson, from the junkyard, remember?"

"Yea, I remember, how did you get my number?" Tyler asked, hiding the surprise in his tone.

"Chris found it in the school directory," Jake replied casually "but listen, you said you were looking for a job right?"

"Yea,"

"You also said you were working on a bike right?"

"Yea...thats what I'm working on now,"

"Can it be ridden?"

Tyler seemed surprised by the question "Yea, it can be...but its not exactly graceful looking, I still need to polish and paint it, adjust everything too..."

"Well do that, and be down to the yard by next week, alright?"

Tyler let a small smile come to his face and a little excitement through "Yea! No problem,"

"Good, see you then,"

Tyler nodded and closed his phone, turning to face his bike he opened the door to yell at his mom "Yea mom! I just got a job offer...ummm...I'm going to need to finish up this bike,"

"Darn it Tyler! Why don't you just lock yourself in your room like you always do!"

Tyler closed the door, wincing as he realized how bad her day must be going. Grabbing some tools he took a deep breath and began to go to work.

_**The following week**_ leading up to Tyler's interview was filled with school and work, with little time for anything else, including food and restroom breaks. His bike was close to finished, he had gotten everything where it should be, or at least the closest he could working under a week time limit. The bike was close to being finished, the last part needed being some sort of way to read how fast he was going, and good breaks. The breaks, they were just a matter of getting onto the bike, the speedometer would have to wait, he could get that from the junkyard later. The Callahan family, at least what was left of it, was getting hard to hold together. The stress from their mother's job continued to come back and cause problems, huge dents in the walls, broken plates and glasses were all testaments of both how tired she was, and how stressful her life was becoming. And her nineteen year old son never being home never helped either.

"Almost done..." Tyler groaned "and man does it look good..."

The bike was painted, adjusted, and ready to ride. The front of the bike was a dark gray ending in two black points which transitioned into a dark red which transitioned back into the same dark gray. The shocks of the bike were blue as was the area around the motor, and the two fang looking objects coming from the front of the bike next to the headlights. The seat and handlebars were black and the helmet that sat on top of the seat was a mix of blue, black, and red in a style similar to the way dirt bikers have theirs. Walking over to the well worn couch in the garage Tyler laid down and closed his eyes, ready to go to sleep when his cell phone rang.

"Yo..." he answered with a yawn.

"Tyler, its Jake, where are you? You were supposed to be here half an hour ago,"

Tyler's eyes shot open and he ran over to his bike, opening the garage door and yelling into the phone "Sorry! I'm on my way!"

Just as he hung up his mother walked in "Tyler! Where are you going?!"

"If you knew you would just tell me not to go!" he yelled slowly back pedalling out of the garage, revving his engine.

"I'm doing that anyway! Get off that bike!"

"Sorry mom, I'll be home later!" Tyler yelled as he held onto the break and gas, spinning his rear wheel before taking off down the road.

It didn't take long to get to the junkyard, there happened to be no traffic and most of the lights were green when he got there. Running one or two along the way, he finally made it to the gates, sliding and then slowing down after making it past the entrance he looked around for Jake and the others he figured worked there. Eventually he followed the dirt road down to a large building, three figures sitting in the window. One didn't look like a kat, but he figured it was from the sudden glare from the sun. Stopping the bike and getting off he was about to walk towards the door when it opened and Jake walked out with Chris and another kat.

"This is your bike?" Jake asked with a surprised tone in his voice.

Tyler nodded and looked at the ground "Yep, this is what I spent two years making..."

"It doesn't look half bad, almost as good as we could have made it eh?" the bigger tabby kat asked with a large grin.

"Yea, it looks great," Jake nodded "what happened to thinking it was going to be a piece of junk Chance?"

"Thats out the window now buddy, whats your name kid?" Chance turned to Tyler.

"Tyler Callahan..." Tyler said looking at Chris who stood next to Jake.

"I think this pretty much assures your position...up for being a mechanic until something comes up?"

Tyler shrugged and tossed the helmet to Chance "Take a ride if you want...I'm up for it,"

Chance seemed happy to oblige and hopped on, taking down the road. Tyler looked at Jake and Chris who looked like they were laughing. Turning to watch the dust Tyler acted as if he didn't hear what they were talking about and heard a couple of sentances.

"Looks like he doesn't fly the turbokat every other day eh?" Jake asked.

"Yea, you'd think he never gets any excitement..."

Tyler grew a confused look but was snapped out of his trance by the weight of Jake's hand on his shulder.

"Come in tomorrow at about...two o clock, you'll work for about six hours and get paid a nice amount for it, alright?"

"Yea Mr. Clawson, no problem," Tyler nodded.

"And call me Jake, I'm not that much older than you are,"

_**Jake grinned as**_ he watched Tyler work on the newest car that had come in. No big problems, which is why they let him work on it. He seemed to know what he was doing, but was just a little sloppy in execution. Chance had the patience of a saint for once, probably because Tyler was actually trying to do his job instead of the other 'employees' who blew off work. After watching him for a while Jake could see what Chris had been talking about, he didn't seem to know who he wanted to be. He had been confident, but at the same time Jake could see the shake in his step and the way he kept staring off into space when there wasn't anything to be done. It half bothered Jake, and he wanted to figure it out.

"Chance, its six thirty, Scaredy Kats on!" Jake yelled into the garage.

Chance's head poked up from the hood and a grin was on his face "Got it! Jake, take over here for me!" he said running past him and plopping himself down in front of the television.

"Yea, no problem..." Jake calmly walked over to Tyler and looked at what he and Chance had been doing "so...Tyler...tell me a little bit about yourself,"

Tyler's hands stopped moving and he looked up "Well...I'm nineteen...I live on the outskirts of the city...my life consists of school, work, home..." he stopped and continued working.

"What else?" Jake pressed with a raised eyebrow.

"Well...I live with my brother, sister and mother...hah...fun life," he sighed.

"Whys that? Where's your dad?" Jake asked, shocked when he saw Tyler set his wrench down and begin to walk away, stopping at the open door.

"He's dead...killed a little while ago...couple years..."

Jake picked himself up off of the car and took a couple steps forward "Tyler...I'm sorry, I didn't know,"

"Its alright Jake...he was a loser...a no body...I'm embarrassed to call him my father..." his hands slowly contorted into fists and Jake took a wild guess that if he could, Tyler would crush the wall he was leaning on.

"Why are you embarrassed? Generally kids are proud of their fathers..." Jake decided to push a little more gently.

"I'm embarrassed because...well...lets just say he made a lot of mistakes," Tyler turned and walked past Jake "lets get back to work...I still have an hour and a half..."

Jake nodded and sighed "Alright..."

They continued to work for a little bit before Tyler spoke up again "He used to be my hero...when he died I didn't know what to do with myself...at first the answer was to end it all...then it was to keep living and try to make myself worth something...try to find something I'm good at and do a good job at it...fill my dad's shoes of taking care of the family...but every year I fail to do that...I realize that I'm never going to be able to do what he did for those first twelve years..."

It was all starting to slowly make sense to Jake. A fatherless kid looking for something to keep his mind off of his pain. Off of every waking moment he is forced to make a decision that his father otherwise could have made. He was looking for a justification to live, and it was becoming harder to find. Tyler was a kid who was slowly running out of options.


	3. The Good Gone Wrong

**I do not own the SWAT Kats, or the OC Chris. SWAT Kats belong to Hanna Barbera, and Chris belongs to Chrissy-San. I have had major help with Chris in this chapter. Please R&R.**

"Being the one on the stands...I know the way to go, no ones guiding me..." - Avenged Sevenfold 'Unholy Confessions'

_**Chris silently walked**_ down the hallways of Megakat university. The initial rush of school getting out had ended and now it was just the few people who waited for traffic to clear before leaving. She gently ran her hand over her ears and through her hair, taking out the bungee holding it up in a pony tail and then putting it back up again. It had been about four months since she had began living with Chance and Jake, and somehow she was becoming attracted to Jake, the person she wanted to be with was a mechanic and probably didn't even look at her the way she looked at him. How did it start? Why does she have to listen to her heart beat faster and faster every time she sees him? She just didn't know. Looking up she saw the multi colored tiles in the hallway, blue, yellow, white, purple, and green all lined the floor, as did a single colored stripe on the wall depending on what hallway you were walking down. Stopping to take a deep breath she heard a voice.

"Hey Chris,"

She turned and in surprise saw Tyler Callahan. The kid who seemed to be depressed or shy every time she saw him "Yea...what do you need Tyler?"

"Can you drive?" He asked looking at the ground "I have a shift at the junkyard right after school in about thirty minutes, I was wondering if I could get a ride with you there?"

Chris looked at him and sighed "Yea, I was on my way there...come on, follow me,"

"Thanks Chris, I appreciate it..." Tyler nodded and followed a few steps behind her.

The next few minutes were awkwardly silent for both kats. Something didn't seem entirely right about Tyler, but Chris tried not to pay it any mind. He WAS just looking for a ride to work. After they got onto the road Tyler didn't seem entirely there, and Chris was beginning to get constantly curious at why he acted the way he did.

"Hey Tyler, why do you act the way you do?" She finally decided on the words she wanted to say.

"Since when do you care...seems like you just want to get to know me to do some damage later on...at least thats what others do, at least try to do..."

Chris raised her eyebrows and glanced at him as she came to a stop in front of a red light "I'm your friend Tyler, I don't hurt friends...so why do you act the way you do?" she asked the question again.

"What do you mean Chris?" He asked, seeming to be snapped out of whatever trance he was in.

"Like, your personality seems to change...and its odd to watch, one time you'll be depressed and another shy and polite...why?" She explained her question.

"Because...I guess I'm looking for who I want to be..." He replied with a hint of remorse in his voice.

"Looking for who you want to be?"

"You know...Jake has his personality...Chance has his...I have more than one...I guess, I'm not exactly sure..."

Chris started going again and continued to glance at him "So what happened to get you like this? No one starts out that way,"

"My dad died..." Tyler replied looking over at her "he made a lot of mistakes and...he was killed,"

"Oh...Tyler I'm-"

"Sorry, yea I know...I've heard it before..."

The ride was silent the rest of the way. Chris couldn't think of how else to keep the conversation going without doing more damage. She had gotten as much out of him as she was going to at the minute. That was good enough. They pulled into the junkyard and Tyler took a deep breath, waiting for the car to stop before opening the door and getting out. Walking inside he went to the small locker everyone had been willing to install so he didn't have to keep hauling his gear around and pulled out a white shirt, and the cloths that Jake and Chance had gotten him. Walking out he heard a voice saying something then a laugh.

"What the-" he was cut off as a large pile of trash was dumped in front of the garage.

"Delivery for the trash rats!" a small kat yelled jumping out of the large truck that parked as a larger one got out of the drivers side.

"Yea, not sure where they are," Tyler dismissed it and walked over, sorting through the usual tools and grabbing a couple of wrenches and looking for a new bandanna to wrap over his head, he saw a black one and tied it around his head, feeling the ends reaching the bottom of his neck.

"Who are you?" the big one asked with a laugh "the new rat in the nest?"

"You could say that...you guys done or are you going to stand there like blubbering idiots for the rest of the day?" Tyler asked grabbing a pair of gloves and walking over.

Just as he asked the question Chance came running out "Aw man! We just cleaned up the last pile of crud you've left on our door step!"

"Just for you tough guy!"

"Well what a coincidence that I have something for you too!" Chance yelled pulling his sleeve up.

Tyler looked from Chance to the two other kats and sighed "Chance, I need some help on this car, mind?"

Seeming to snap out of his feelings of anger Chance nodded and scowled "Yea, sure, no problem,"

Chris heard insults from the two but didn't pay attention as they drove off, more interested with how Tyler handled the situation. Sighing she went back inside and saw Jake closing the door leading to the hanger, looking at her and walking to the door to the garage. Noticing the garbage he looked back.

"Burke and Murray?"

Chris nodded "Somehow Tyler got Chance to stop fighting without pinning him to the ground,"

Jake let a small laugh come from his throat as he walked back past her and sat down "Well lets let them work..."

"Something still confuses me about him..." Chris said after a few moments "he opened up a little bit earlier...and it wasn't much.."

"Give him time, all some people need is time and a friend," Jake shrugged as he picked up the remote to the tv, flipping it on.

"Yea I guess..." She sat down next to him and leaned back.

_**Chance watched Tyler **_work and gave a half hearted smile. He had taken up the job pretty well, and it gave him and Jake some down time. He then frowned as he remembered Chris and her liking of Jake. During the past couple of days that Tyler came to work Chance would watch the way he looked at Chris and he couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor kid. But he just wasn't going to get a chance with her. Chance snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the hood shut and Tyler groan.

"There...the second car done today..." He looked at Chance and chuckled "so, when do I get paid?"

"Ask Jake, he's the one who hired you," Chance replied leaning on the work table situated near the wall in the garage.

"Yea...Jake," Tyler looked out the garage door and watched as storm clouds gathered overhead and lightning struck "great...I have to walk home in this..."

A noise that resembled a fire alarm went off inside and a few seconds after it was taken care of Jake burst out of the door "Chance, we have a problem! Come on!"

"Hold on who's going to give me a ride home?!" Tyler yelled over the thunder.

"Chris can-" Chance was about to speak when large pieces of hail began to slam on the ground "never mind, stay here!"

"Fine..." Tyler put down his stuff and walked inside.

Jake stopped next to Chris and looked back at Tyler "Keep him busy...find some way to get him distracted..."

"Easier said than done..." she replied as Jake ran back and started to climb down the hangar. Looking back at Tyler she saw him staring out the window "but at the same time oh so simple...hey Tyler! Hungry?"

He looked over and shrugged "Nah, not really...just thoughtful, if you can call it that..."

"Lets just call it that, sit down whats on your mind?" She cleared off a place on a small table and took a seat of her own.

"Just a lot of random stuff..." Tyler replied, continuing to stand "like why we moved in the first place...what my life is slowly becoming...stupid things like that,"

"Doesn't sound so stupid..." Chris winced as she heard the faint boom of the Turbokat taking off, but Tyler seemed to not notice.

"Sometimes I can't help but obsess over how 'stupid' it may be...I'm really confused though Chris," he looked at her "I used to think I was who I was...just as simple as that...and now I get up in the morning and look at myself in the mirror...but can't see who I used to be..."

"Who was that?"

"Twelve year old Tyler Callahan...care free...happy...hopeful..." Tyler replied grabbing his dog tags "I used to want to be a pilot...just like my dad, of course then he started doing the wrong things...drugs...alcohol...just turned into the wrong person..."

Chris frowned, "I know how you feel...kind of..."

Tyler raised an eyebrow "what do you mean?"

Chris sighed, "When I was younger...my brother and I...well...we haven't seen our parents for awhile...in fact, they left us when I was only 16 and my brother was 14..."

"I'm sorry..." Tyler looked at the ground "what happened to your brother?"

"Well...he went off on his own to be...whatever he wanted to be...and I just moved here by myself...I haven't heard from him since..." Chris's reply was so soft, Tyler could barely hear her.

Tyler gave a soft smile "Well at least you have Chance and Jake," he scratched his head and was about to say something else when he stopped.

Chris sighed, "Yeah...both Chance and Jake made me feel right at hone here...especially Jake..."

"Especially Jake?"

Chris nodded, "Yeah...Chance is a cool guy and all...but it was Jake whom I got closer too...I can't understand why though...maybe because he kinda understands what I've been through...I should say..." Chris couldn't tell Tyler why though, since she knew Tyler hasn't really proven enough to be told about who she really was.

Tyler didn't say anything, just looking out at the storm "Everything alright? got something on your mind?" he asked trying to get the subject more onto her than him.

Chris didn't reply for a moment, "I'm fine...really...just..." Chris wasn't sure what to say...could Tyler be trusted knowing that Chance and Jake are the SWAT Kats? What would they say if they come home and hear that Tyler knows about their secret?

Tyler looked back at the ground and sighed "Ever like...someone but was never sure exactly why?"

Chris snapped her head up at Tyler at this question and blushed slightly as the image of Jake crossed her mind, "I...well...you might say that..." Chris rubbed her neck and shook her head, feeling her ponytail swish back and forth.

"Yea...me too..." he looked at her and tried to read her face but sighed when he couldn't.

"Who is it?" Tyler asked slowly getting hopeful.

Chris stared at Tyler, wondering if he was joking; a frown came across her pretty face as she said, "Well...he works here...if that helps..."

"Yea, three people other than you work here," he replied softly.

Chris sighed, "Alright, I always liked..." Tyler stared, his heart thundering when...her next words made it stop, "Jake Clawson..."

Tyler's heart stopped for a minute before smiling and nodding "Yea...I can see why..."

Chris shook her head again, "No, you don't...you see the thing is...ever since I met Jake, something about him...well...maybe it's because his shy and quiet personality is what made me like him...and it's not just that either. I always loved his strong smile. That smile on his...well...cute face that always got to me..." Chris smiled slightly and quickly frowned at what she said, "Please, don't tell Jake I said that about him. Or Chance, since he'll make fun of me until the end of time."

Tyler gave a dry laugh and nodded "Yea, no problem, secrets safe with me..."

Chris smiled at this and said, "Thanks a lot Tyler..." She turned and laid on the couch as she stared at the ceiling with a heavy sigh.

"Yea...like I said...no problem..." he got up from his seat and walked out to the garage, feeling his eyes getting misty he took a deep breath and stood out in the rain as it began to lighten up.

_**Chris watched him**_ go and whispered to herself, "I wonder if I should really tell him about me being a human girl..."

The rain began to lighten up and the roar of a jet engine sounded overhead. Tyler calmly walked back inside and began grabbing his stuff, changing his shirt and pants before looking at Chris and walking out with a small smile. Chris watched him go and thought for a second, "Poor kid..." She suddenly heard the sound of a jet approaching. Quickly, she rushed over to see the Turbokat's slick black body going into the hanger. She rushed down the ladder and watched as the Turbokat slowly made it's way upward.

"Hey, you two kids have fun with us gone?" Chance yelled up from the open cock pit as he took off his helmet.

Chris smiled, as Chance and Jake took off their masks and jumped down to join her on the ground, "Yeah...we had a very interesting...conversation..."

"Awww, ain't that cute, the two youngest members of the junkyard team are hitting it off," Chance laughed and started to work his way towards his locker "I'm changing then I'm going to bed,"

Chris glared at Chance, "It was nothing like that!" She said, as Jake glanced over, "We just talked for a bit...and well...he just left after I told him I liked...um...whoever I liked."

He turned halfway and a grin was apparent on his face "Yea, whoever you like,"

Chris blushed, "I...well...it's not Tyler I can tell you that...he's way too weird for me anyway..."

"Ahhh go easy on him," Chance turned and continued walking "anyway, good night, sleep tight, yadda yadda..."

Once Chance was gone, Chris turned to Jake who stared for a second before walking over to his locker, "Um...Jake...how did it go...on the mission?"

"Meh, you know, the usual crazy kat," he replied shrugging and smiling gently.

Chris smiled and sighed, "Well...guess I better get ready for bed too..." she turned to move away when she felt a paw go on her shoulder; she turned to see Jake, looking slightly nervous, "Yeah Jake?"

Jake took a breath "Chris, who did you tell Tyler you liked?"

Chris stared, her heart thundering in her chest, it was hard to realize that Jake couldn't hear it, "I...it's...nobody! I was just telling Tyler to egg him on..." Chris stuttered, how could she tell Jake that she liked him that way?

"Whoa, alright, calm down Chris..." He gave a soft smile and shrugged "go ahead and do what you were going to do...I'm going to catch David Litterbin before taking a break from being awake,"

Jake walked out of the hanger and Chris watched him go. Once his light brown tail disappeared out of the hanger, she sighed as she started upwards as well, "Awe man...and I was THIS close to telling him..."

_**Chance groaned as**_ he laid down and laid his arm over his eyes. It had been a long day, and the fact they had to rush out with the risk of Tyler seeing was worse. He didn't get why Tyler was such mystery , then again it wasn't really his business. The kid had potential to be a great mechanic, but maybe he could be great with something else. He had raw talent with mechanical parts and car engines, and with enough time he might be able to rival Jake's. He even had what counted most. Determination. Chance liked him, but he would need to see more of what he could do. After all, Chris might have a partner soon enough.


End file.
